The launch party for "New Hampshire Beer: Brewing from Sea to Summit" will run from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, June 26, at the Sheraton Portsmouth Harborside Hotel, with food, beer and discussion of the book. Tickets, $30, may be purchased at nhbeerbook.brownpapertickets.com. Tickets include a signed copy of the book. Visit www.nhbeerbook.com.

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Two guys who love craft beer took off on a bro-venture to tour New Hampshire's breweries, and they wrote a book about what they found.

"New Hampshire Beer: Brewing From Sea to Summit," by Brian Aldrich and Mike Meredith, is now out and in it you'll find the history of some of our best breweries, meet the fantastic brewing talent, and learn more about why and how they do what they do so well. It's also a great way to plan a brewcation to our beautiful towns.

Aldrich started writing about beer for his blog Seacoast Beverage Lab in March 2010 and, along with his blog and craft beer podcast of the same name, he's the "beer master" at the Sheraton Portsmouth Harborside Hotel.

He and Meredith met as kids, and Meredith, who works in the beer, wine and spirits industry for a promotional products firm, is co-host of the popular podcast. Together, they created a book that covers 20 well-established breweries, along with a few just recently opened, giving readers a glimpse into the future of craft beer.

"We started with Frank Jones in Portsmouth and the last chapter is Great Rhythm, one of the newer breweries. In the future of brewing chapter we also included David Sakolsky — he's been with Blue Lobster, brewed at Hill Farmstead and will open something else soon — he's an important talent in New Hampshire. But we did have some surprises," Aldrich says. "We found that breweries can be a landmark in a town. We were at the Flying Goose and spent the whole day with Rik Marley, the brewer. We were going to go to Woodstock Brewery and spend the night but he told us we had to go to Littleton and get to Schilling Beer Company. It opened in May 2013 and we had put a 'hard stop' on adding anything else, but we went. We were flies on the wall all night there and took it all in. Jeff Cozzens was there pouring beers and we had a great talk. You don't need to be in a tourist town to have a great. brewery. They're brewing some of the best beers the state has ever brewed."

Meredith also was surprised by Schilling Brewery.

"We didn't intend to include them, but then we learned about it. I think Schilling was one of my favorites. It embodied all the themes we were finding — passion, caring about your product, interacting with the community. We went into the bar and Jeff Cozzens was there behind the bar talking to everyone. We were at a table just flies on the wall and he was saying goodbye to everyone, 'I'm Jeff Cozzens, thanks for coming,' and we said, 'I guess we're interviewing Jeff Cozzens, now!'

Many of our Seacoast breweries are represented in the book, including Smuttynose Brewing Company, Portsmouth Brewery, Throwback Brewery, Great Rhythm Brewing Company and Earth Eagle Brewings, each with its own chapter.

New breweries are mentioned as well, such as 7th Settlement and One Love breweries, Blue Lobster Brewing Company and Stoneface Brewing Company.

Interspersed with both black and white and color photos, you'll find many notable breweries from all over the state, including, surprisingly, Anheuser-Busch in Merrimack, which has been in New Hampshire for more than 40 years.

"I know people will think this should be all craft beer, but you can't exclude them. In reality, they're a part of it," says Meredith. "We met the brewers and saw the brewing is like anywhere else, basically. The brewers are New Hampshire citizens, and they make their beer with care. They're right here with us."

One of the salient themes both noticed was the camaraderie among the breweries.

Says Aldrich, "I think it comes out in the book — the camaraderie. There's not competition among the breweries. New Hampshire craft beer is only 1 percent of craft beer sales in the state. They all want to raise that number. As the only beer blogger in New Hampshire — the only regular, consistent one — I can see that number doubling or tripling in the next year hopefully. I was surprised at how little of the New Hampshire craft beer is actually sold in New Hampshire. The breweries want people to come back again and again and enjoy the beer and the camaraderie, not the white whale, that rare beer. "

Another factor the two hope comes out in the book is that many towns with breweries have become destinations, thanks to the breweries, such as Schilling or Moat Mountain Smokehouse and Brewing Company in North Conway.

"Henniker released a summer beer and 500 people showed up. People say, 'Oh, Henniker — that's the place where the brewery is!,'" Aldrich says.

Meredith says that's one of the reasons the book makes for a great travel guide as well as a beer guide.

"We wanted to make it simple, not dense, so people could experience what we did when we traveled and toured and met the brewers," he says. "And when we walked into each brewery, it was palpable — what each one was all about."

Adds Aldrich, "It's a good blend of travel guide and beer book, and some history. Like Peter Eggleston's story — he was turned down by many states before he opened the Portsmouth Brewery 20 years ago, and that's important to know about the history of his brewer and how things have changed."

Both authors hope the book will help tourists and locals alike learn more about the beer they are drinking and raise the percentage of people drinking New Hampshire beer in the state.

"Craft beer tourism will put New Hampshire on the map," Aldrich says.

The Dish

Beer Camp!

Eighteen New Hampshire breweries have signed on to join fellow brewers and beer lovers at Sierra Nevada's Beer Camp Across America, an unprecedented traveling beer festival that will take place later this summer. Nearly 700 craft brewers from around the country have already signed on for the multi-weekend event; anticipating more than 1,300 craft beers on tap, collectively representing almost every state in the union. Beer Camp Across America promises to be one of the largest craft beer celebrations in history. New Hampshire breweries will include Tuckerman Brewing Company, 7th Settlement, One Love, The Prodigal Brewery, White Birch Brewing, Moat Mountain, Elm City Brewing Company, 603 Brewery and several more for the New England edition of the camp taking place Friday, Aug. 1, at Thompson Point in Portland, Maine. Find out more at www.SierraNevada.com/BeerCamp

Dover Dines!

Dover Main Street has partnered with Smuttynose Brewing Company, Eastern Marketing Services and WXGR to present Dover Dines '14 — Take a Bite Out of Dover. This event, which commences Friday, June 20, and runs through Sunday, June 29, provides the community the opportunity to explore the city's diverse dining establishments with special three-course prix fixe menus offered at $19.95 per person for dinner. In addition, several restaurants are also offering a three-course lunch or even breakfast option for only $9.95 per person. Find out more at www.DoverDines.com

Rachel Forrest is a former restaurant owner who lives in Exeter and Austin, Texas. Her column appears Thursdays in Go&Do. Her restaurant review column, Dining Out, appears Thursdays in Spotlight magazine. She can be reached by e-mail at rachel.forrest@localmediagroupinc.com.